Restoring Hope
by Spotsylvania
Summary: Set in Legacy Era. It's been 148 years since Yavin, and Empress Marasiah Fel and Chancellor Sion Visar have ruled the new Imperial Republic for a decade after victory over Darth Krayt. Concerned with odd visions Sion has been having of Padme Amidala, Marasiah tries to help him understand what they mean. What neither of them know is that the visions are a sign of big changes...


Supreme Chancellor Sion Visar looked out from the window of his office on the new Republic capital of Corellia. The city of Coronet had always felt like a crown jewel to him with its splendid architecture and twinkling lights. He had been born and raised in this city, and it only made sense that the capital should be in a place like this away from the ugly and dirty world of Coruscant. Staring out over the late afternoon hustle and bustle of Coronet, Sion felt a sense of peace in knowing that the Republic was prosperous and tranquil again.

It had taken a lot of sacrifice to get to this point. When the Galactic Alliance had fallen to the One Sith under Darth Krayt, everything had turned sour quickly. An elite Jedi Master, Sion had escaped the tragedy at Ossus by simply living on his homeworld. He kept a low profile and worked his way through the ranks of local politics over the years in addition to taking up starfighter training. Eventually, he became a competent fighter pilot and achieved the rank of commodore in the storied Corellian fleet. With the alliance between the remnants of the Jedi, a Galactic Alliance fleet commanded by Admiral Gar Stazi, and the Imperials under Emperor Roan Fel, fighting had grown closer to Corellia's door-step. Krayt had tried to lean on the system for support, but the fiercely independent Corellians had rebuffed him. The Sith Emperor decided to retaliate by launching an invasion of the system. The government in Coronet named Sion as the commanding admiral of the fleet when the regular admiral had been captured by Sith forces. Knowing that the fleet had little chance of beating Krayt's forces in pitched battle, Visar arranged an evacuation of the capital and withdrew the fleet to a position near one of the system's remote moons that afforded good cover. When the Sith armada had occupied the world and gotten complacent after a time, they were hit by a massive surprise assault from the intact Corellian fleet. Only they were aided by the fleets of Fel and Stazi, which combined formed a powerful force. All three men had planned the attack painstakingly over several months with their aerial commanders. The result was the complete destruction of the Sith fleet in the Corellia system, resulting in Krayt's becoming vulnerable in the Core worlds. With help from the Jedi and Imperial stormtroopers, the Corellian Defense Force recaptured Coronet from the enemy garrison, securing a prime spot from which to attack Coruscant itself.

Their victory complete, the allied force wasted little time in capitalizing on it. Launching an attack on the once heavily defended Republic capital world, now more lightly so after the devastating defeat at Corellia, Fel's Imperials led the assault. When the smoke cleared after a week of intense fighting, the allies had reclaimed Coruscant. It was not without great cost, with Roan Fel and Gar Stazi killed in the fighting. Being the only two high-ranking officials left alive, Princess, now Empress, Marasiah Fel and Admiral Sion Visar forged an agreement to share power. In a galaxy-wide plebiscite, Sion was elected as Supreme Chancellor of the newly-created Imperial Republic, with the authority to serve as long as he wished if the people chose not to recall him. The two chief executives embarked on an ambitious rebuilding campaign. After a decade, the Republic's infrastructure, government, financial, and social policies were on firm ground. The galaxy was at long last in a peaceful and good state of affairs.

Sion and Marasiah were popular with the citizenry, serving side-by-side on the newly picked capital at Corellia. While Sia, as she was known by those close to her, had her own skill as an Imperial Knight and an adept administrator, Sion was widely considered to be one of the most powerful Jedi in the Republic. His gifted abilities in handling the armed forces and social policies allowed her to focus on financial and diplomatic issues. The two worked well together, but both were single. Marasiah was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Imperial Knight Antares Draco, and Sion was just plain unattached. The tabloid media loved to speculate on their personal lives, even though they did keep it somewhat respectful. It was in this kind of life that Sion found himself staring out the window.

"What are you thinking about? It's past time for us to go home..." the Empress stood next to the Chancellor.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. I've been having dreams, or visions, lately. Every time I fall asleep, it happens. I don't know why..." Sion replied.

"What are the visions of, if you don't mind my asking?" Marasiah asked him.

"It's all a bit blurry. I can never get a clear look at what's going on, but I've been able to piece some things together. I see a woman, a broken heart due to the fall of her husband. She apparently dies in childbirth or something. I don't exactly have the whole history of the galaxy memorized in my head, but I think she must be Padme Skywalker..." he furrowed his brow.

"That is odd. I know the story well. It really was a sad and short life for her. She deserved a lot better in my opinion. Cade Skywalker may have his faults, but he's nothing like the monster Anakin was. Anyway, why would a vision like this present itself to you?" she was curious to know where this could potentially go.

Sion shook his head, "I wish I knew. Maybe I haven't gotten to that part of the vision yet..."

Marasiah put a hand on his shoulder, "Keep me in the loop on this, alright. I know we're not in love or anything, but I care what happens to you. If you should need any help with the vision, just ask."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for listening to my babble," the Chancellor laughed.

"Anytime. And it wasn't babble. Look, I'm going to head home now. You have a good night," the Empress smiled at him.

"You too," he returned the smile.

With that, she left the Capital Tower and went home. He was left to his own devices once again.

* * *

><p>Sion slept peacefully that night, the vision seemingly not occurring. It got into the twilight hours of the morning when his sleep was interrupted by a sudden rustling right next to him. The Jedi Master woke up with a start, "What the hell was that?!"<p>

He looked over to his left side and saw a woman sleeping serenely under the covers, her head resting gently on a pillow. Her brown hair was let down, and her face was one of intricate beauty. The dimples, her lips, every part combined to form a dazzling face. She was dressed in a white gown, elegant, but just simple enough.

Sion touched her arm to make sure she was real. With the touch, she stirred a little but didn't wake.

He ran his hands over his face, unsure if he was dreaming or not. An idea for testing that out popped into his head. Sion walked into the living room and retrieved his holoprojector. He set the transmission to contact Marasiah.

Several long moments later, a dreary-eyed Empress greeted him in holographic form, "I take it something important happened with your vision. Was it so important that you had to wake me up from my sleep?"

The Chancellor fervently nodded, "You know me, Sia. I wouldn't bother you like this unless it was absolutely necessary."

"So what happened?"

"This may sound crazy, but I woke up next to a woman in my bed. I have no idea how she got there. She's got brown hair and eyes, wearing a white gown, and I think I'm about to lose it if I don't find out what the hell is going on. Can you show me an image of what Padme Amidala looked like?"

Marasiah gasped when she heard this, "You don't think..."

Sion wasted little time, "Just show me an image of her."

Empress Fel fumbled about her holocron library for the right piece, and finally found it. She uploaded the image to her holoprojector and transmitted it to Sion, "Here you go. Now you take me into your room so I can see for myself."

Chancellor Visar did as she asked and took the projector into the bedroom. Together, the two friends compared the face of the woman in the bed to the image. He expressed what both of them were feeling, "Holy shit... It's her..."

Marasiah looked over the woman's face, "I have to be there in person for this. Give me a few minutes and don't wake her. We need to deal with this together."

Sion nodded as her image faded away. He silently looked over Padme from a chair that was across from the bed, "Unreal... How did you even get here?"

A few minutes later, the Empress arrived. She went with the Chancellor to get a better look at the woman in his bed.

Marasiah leaned in close to examine Padme, "She's going to have a hell of a shock when she wakes up. I will definitely say that."

Sion tried to figure out what to do next, "So what do we tell her when she wakes?"

She wasn't sure, "I don't know..."

They kept watch over her for as long as they could, but eventually exhaustion overcame them and both fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Sion woke up and was shocked to see Padme looking over him. She was surprisingly calm considering the circumstances. He couldn't think of anything to say, but finally came up with something, "Hello, Senator Amidala. I'm sure you're wondering what the hell is going on..."<p>

Padme smiled at him, "Thank you for saving me from being executed. I don't know how you managed to transport me all the way from Geonosis to Corellia, but I'm glad you did. Those nasty beasts had it in for us. Did you get Anakin and Obi-Wan too?

The Chancellor realized that some strange turn of events had revived Padme and retrieved her from the past, apparently when she had been captured by Count Dooku on Geonosis. He could only surmise that the Force had done this, perhaps to give her a second chance at a better life. He had an uneasy look on his face as he spoke, "Padme, we didn't do anything. The way you got here is unknown to us. This is going to come as a shock to you, but you traveled through time. It's been about 170 years since the conflict with the Separatists..."

The Senator paled when she heard this, "What? No, that can't be right..."

He sighed, "It is..."

"First of all, who are you and who is she?" Padme demanded an answer.

"My name is Sion Visar, and I am the current Supreme Chancellor of the Imperial Republic. And the woman sitting over there is Empress Marasiah Fel, my fellow leader of the galaxy. You see, the Republic you knew fell thanks to my late predecessor, Palpatine. Turns out he was a Sith lord the entire time and manipulated the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, the Separatist war, and turned the Republic into an empire with your late husband as his right-hand man. Not exactly the best of times," Sion explained to her.

"Palpatine?! I trusted him, there's no way he could be a Sith lord! And Anakin, my Ani..." Padme refused to believe it.

"Sadly, it is true. Palpatine manipulated Anakin and convinced him to become Darth Vader. They turned on the Jedi and wiped them out for the most part. Their empire was eventually defeated and a new Republic created, but that collapsed due to a Sith resurgence around 15 years ago. That's where Sion and I came in. We led a force consisting of my father's empire, members of the Republic remnant, and the Corellian fleet. It was on this planet that we defeated the Sith and then recaptured Coruscant. They're scattered around the galaxy now, but we'll keep hunting them," Marasiah had woken up and took a turn in explaining reality to Padme.

The senator sat down, a look of utter disbelief on her face, "If what you're saying is true, then Anakin and Obi-wan are dead?"

"Yes, although the ways they died may have changed considering that the timeline is probably out of whack," Sion responded.

Padme couldn't even say anything, the sense that she was indeed in a new world starting to sink in.

"I'll get you some water. You look parched," Marasiah got up and went to Sion's kitchen.

"If you didn't teleport me here, then how did I get here, so far in the future?" the shaken senator looked for answers.

The Chancellor sighed, "I've been having visions of you in my sleep. I wasn't sure what it meant, but now I think I do. The life you had before you, your husband turning to the dark side and committing terrible crimes, and your death in childbirth before the age of thirty. I believe the Force has brought you here for a second chance..."

Padme flashed her eyes to him, "I died young?"

Sion looked at her closely, "Yes, your husband's betrayal took its toll on you. When you gave birth to twins, there was no fight left in you. I remember I had a few tears in my eye when I read that part of your history..."

She shook her head, "No, that couldn't happen. I refuse to believe that..."

"Nevertheless, it is true. This is a lot to take in, I know... But there is a positive side to all this," he replied in a soft voice.

"I'm having a hard time finding anything to look forward to right now. Everything and everyone I know are gone, and I'm left on Coronet apparently 170 years later. Not to mention you telling me about a bad future I have. What is there to look forward to?!" Padme was shaking with a combination of anger and sadness.

"Well, there's no wars going on right now. The galaxy is actually at peace for a change, so you wouldn't have to worry about people trying to kill or capture you. I know the Naboo are pacifists. Think of this a chance for you to live a long and happy life," Sion made his point.

"I don't know... I'm still trying to wrap my head around this..." she responded with a sigh.

Marasiah came back with a glass of water, "Here you go, Padme. I imagine it will taste pretty good after being on Geonosis."

"Thank you," the senator took the glass and drank the water.

Marasiah and Sion left her alone in the room to discuss what should be done about their new guest. The Empress started things, "She's obviously going to need a place to stay. We're both in this together, so it only makes sense that we both take care of her."

"What are you suggesting?" the Chancellor had a hunch as to what she was thinking.

"I'm saying we should live together with her. You have a suitable residence here for that. We already run the galaxy together, so why not this?" she ran the idea by him.

"I think that would be the best way to do things, although I'm surprised you're not going the other way with this," he responded with a small smile.

"My penthouse is good, but yours isn't as lavish. I like things a bit simpler anyway. So what do we do once she's all settled and comes to grips with being here?" Sia replied.

"I could appoint her to a position or something. That would work," Sion answered her.

"Any idea what position?" the Empress asked.

"There's been a vacancy at Vice Chancellor for a while. I'll probably go that route," the Chancellor mused.

"You're good at thinking this stuff up on the fly, you know that," she laughed.

They both looked back to see Padme leaning her head against the back of the chair, deep in thought. Things had definitely gotten more interesting for all three of them...

* * *

><p>The three Jedi had landed with a thump on the roof of the Capital Tower that housed the offices of the Imperial Republic's chief executives as well as the Chancellor's penthouse.<p>

"I think we're safe now. This isn't Geonosis..." a light-haired man of about twenty remarked as he got up and dusted himself off.

"You have a flair for the obvious. And never anything interesting to say. Sometimes I wonder if keeping Master Qui-Gon's promise was worth it," the older Jedi Master who was about Marasiah's age of 37 retorted only half-jokingly.

"I recognize this place... I've been here once before. It's Coronet, the capital city of Corellia. How did we end up here?" the younger female Jedi apprentice of 15 years old scratched her head.

"Was this your doing, Anakin? Part of your being the so-called Chosen One," the older Jedi remarked dryly.

"You know, Master Obi-Wan, it wouldn't hurt you to be more polite once in a while," Anakin Skywalker answered with a slightly hostile tone.

Ahsoka Tano stood between the two men, "If you two are done jockeying for male dominance, I think the best way to figure this out is to go inside."

Obi-Wan Kenobi looked up at the sky, "I think that's going to be done for us..."

While they had been talking, the group had been sighted by a starfighter making a patrol over the city. It wasn't long before an entire squadron was circling the tower.

Master Kenobi sighed, "Great, we go from being prisoners on one planet to being captives on another..."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, two people were roaming the hills surrounding the city. They recognized the planet they were on, but it looked different from how they remembered it. "How exactly did we get here? Did the Star Forge transport us here?" the woman asked her companion.<p>

"Bastila, I know as much as you do. I have no idea what's going on? The best thing we can do is head into the city and find out where we stand," Revan scratched his head.

"That and we need some sort of lodging," Bastila Shan replied as she and Revan trudged down the hill they were on and headed towards Coronet.


End file.
